Overview
This lecture covers Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory, its main concepts, and practical strategies for applying the theory in classroom settings.
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory: Key Ideas
- Bandura emphasized learning through observing, modeling, and imitating others' behaviors and emotions.
- Social learning theory differs from behaviorist theories (conditioning, reinforcement, punishment) and cognitive theories (mental processes).
- Bandura argued that social variables, such as the environment and people, significantly influence learning.
- The Bobo doll experiments demonstrated observational learning, where children imitated behaviors observed in adults.
- Children are more likely to imitate models who are rewarded or viewed positively.
Main Concepts and Steps of Social Learning
- Learning occurs by observing live, verbal, or symbolic models (e.g., people, media characters).
- Internal psychological factors, like intrinsic reinforcement, play a crucial role in learning.
- Knowing a behavior does not guarantee its execution; motivation and value matter.
- The four steps in social learning are:
- Attention — focusing on the model.
- Retention — remembering the observed behavior.
- Reproduction — physically and mentally reproducing the action.
- Motivation — having a reason to imitate the behavior.
Classroom Applications
- Teachers can use positive and negative reinforcement to guide student behavior.
- Classroom cues (verbal or physical) can help capture student attention.
- Multimodal instruction (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) enhances information retention.
- Rewards, praise, and constructive feedback foster intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy.
- Collaborative learning encourages students to learn from peers and diverse models.
- Flipped classroom approaches and gamification promote observation, reinforcement, and motivation.
- Integrating social learning principles throughout instruction can improve student outcomes.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Social Learning Theory — learning that occurs by observing and imitating others.
- Observational Learning — acquiring new behaviors by watching others.
- Model — any person (real or symbolic) whose behavior can be observed and imitated.
- Intrinsic Reinforcement — internal rewards like pride or satisfaction.
- Reinforcement — any response (positive or negative) affecting the likelihood of repeating a behavior.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review the four steps of social learning theory.
- Plan a lesson that incorporates modeling, reinforcement, and collaborative learning activities.